


Under The Greek Sun

by Eleni_Sk



Series: Coronas and Viruses [6]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Greece, Greek Culture, Greek History, Greek Islands, Greek Mainland, It all started because of Melerick921, It has taken a life of its own, Single Dad Oliver, There Will Be Lots Of Food, You Have Been Warned, characters and tags to be added, meet cute, prepare yourselves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29920560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleni_Sk/pseuds/Eleni_Sk
Summary: Felicity groaned as she opened her eyes. She had no idea where she was. The last thing she could remember was falling from her surfing board during her daily practice. She had arrived in Greece earlier that week to participate in a Worldwide Surfing Race. It was taking place in Crete that year. She always wanted to go to Greece, she thought the place was magical, and she got her chance with this Race. She was even staying two weeks after the end of the race to enjoy the country. And she really needed a break from her life, so…“Daddy, I think she’s awake,” a little girl’s voice entered her ears.“Easy, baby. She has hit her head, remember?” a warm voice said. The owner of the voice sounded handsome, Felicity thought. His voice was even and loving. Like he was talking to the most precious person in the world.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Series: Coronas and Viruses [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698355
Comments: 12
Kudos: 29





	Under The Greek Sun

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to another story! This one is special to me because if it wasn't clear from the tags, this one takes place in Greece! So, buckle up! I'm going to throw a lot of information your way! The idea came from melerick921, thank you so much once again! I will be updating this once a week, probably. It takes a little longer for me to write this one because there are things I need to explain and some other things I need to link so that people that aren't familiar with the Greek Culture know what's going on and what I'm talking about. It can get really confusing otherwise. But of course, knowing me that can very easily change. If you know, you know. Also, my sister sends her regards, and also she says that you are all welcome because she says she is the one that makes me sit down and write. This is fairly true, now that I think about it. But let's not tell her. I'm really interested to know if any of you have been to Greece or are from Greece. And of course, I want to know what you think of the story in general!!! Stay safe!
> 
> P.S. I will do my best to explain everything and also I will write the English translation when I have characters speak Greek. And feel free to ask me anything you want or don't understand!! And also, the first two chapters will be Felicity-centric.

Felicity groaned as she opened her eyes. She had no idea where she was. The last thing she could remember was falling from her surfing board during her daily practice. She had arrived in Greece earlier that week to participate in a Worldwide Surfing Race. It was taking place in Crete that year. She always wanted to go to Greece, she thought the place was magical, and she got her chance with this Race. She was even staying two weeks after the end of the race to enjoy the country. And she really needed a break from her life, so…

“Daddy, I think she’s awake,” a little girl’s voice entered her ears.

“Easy, baby. She has hit her head, remember?” a warm voice said. The owner of the voice sounded handsome, Felicity thought. His voice was even and loving. Like he was talking to the most precious person in the world.

“Hello, Miss. Can you hear me?” the same little girl asked quietly.

“My head,” Felicity groaned. Her head was pounding. She tried to lift her hand, but a small hand on it prevented her.

“Your hand was badly cut, you have a few stitches,” the man explained.

Felicity blinked several times to clear her vision as much as she could without her glasses. She was in a room, a hospital room. She could see the people the voices belonged to. The man was young, though he seemed older than her, tall and muscular. The little girl was short, which made Felicity think that she was pretty young, she had pigtails and she wore a green T-shirt. That was all that Felicity could make out.

“What happened?” she asked with a raspy voice. That’s one of the two things she wanted to know. The other was, who were they?

“Daddy, give her the water,” the child said with authority.

“Right, how could I forget, princess,” the man chuckled, and Felicity saw him move towards her. He picked up a glass with a straw. “The doctor said to drink a little water, slowly.”

He helped her drink and then returned the glass to the side table. “Thanks. How did I end up here? What happened?”

“From what I could tell, you lost the battle with one of the waves. You fell from your board and you hit your head on an underwater rock. Your hand, too,” he explained. “I’m Oliver, by the way, I was the lifeguard on duty when it happened.”

“Oh, I’m Felicity. Nice to meet you,” she said softly. “And thank you, for saving me.”

“Don’t mention it,” he shrugged.

“And who might you be, little miss?” she did her best to smile at the little girl.

“I’m Rhea,” she beamed.

“That’s a beautiful name,” she said.

“Thank you! Yours is pretty, too!”

“Thank you, Miss Rhea,” Felicity chuckled.

“Do you need your glasses? One of the other participants brought your things, she said you train together from time to time. Her name is Mia.”

“Oh, yes, please. Hopefully, it’ll help my headache.”

Oliver went to the chair that Felicity guessed housed her things and he put her glasses on her face gingerly. And then the world came to a focus.

“Better?” he asked a little concerned.

Better? She’d say so! The guy was gorgeous, like Greek God kind of gorgeous. He had dirty blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes. “So much better. I’m pretty blind without my glasses,” she mentally shook herself and turned to the little girl.

She had brown hair and the same eyes as her father. Though hers had a mischievous glint behind them. She wore jean-shorts with a light blues T-shirt with colorful polka dots and Greek-styled sandals. She had her hair in a ponytail on the top of her head. She seemed to be about three or four. She was cute.

“Rhea, why don’t we go find a nurse for Felicity? They said to let them know,” Oliver said to his daughter.

“But daddy, I don’t want to leave her alone,” Rhea said concerned. “You never leave me alone when I’m hurt,” the little girl frowned.

Felicity had to bite her cheek not to laugh at the look on Oliver’s face. Somehow, she thought he had his hands full with that one. “You have your hands full, don’t you?”

“You have no idea,” Oliver chuckled.

“I promise I will be fine to stay alone for a minute,” Felicity assured the little girl. “I won’t even move.” Not that she wanted to, she was comfortable where she was. Plus, her whole body ached. She was staying put.

“Alright,” she said unsure, but took her father’s hand and they went to get the nurse.

Felicity put her head back on the pillows and sighed. She felt a pang of something, seeing them leave. She must have hit her head pretty hard, she thought. She literally just met them. But, then again, it was the first time in years that she hadn’t felt alone. Even if it had been for two minutes and with complete strangers.

Focus, Felicity! She scolded herself. She was nothing to them and they were just being decent human beings. She wasn’t special. She never had been. She wasn’t special or enough to make anyone stay. Everyone left her. Her father left, Cooper left, Ray left, her mother … well, her mother wasn’t all that motherly. She was just someone good at computers. Because computers never leave. And they don’t lie to you. Or cheat on you. 

She didn’t have time to wallow in her thoughts more, because Oliver and Rhea came back, following a nurse with a kind face.

“You gave us quite the scare, young lady,” she said with a smile.

“Sorry,” she felt the need to say.

“How do you feel?” she asked checking her IV and then her chart.

“Fine, I think. My head hurts a little, but other than that, I’m fine.”

“It’s normal,” she said. “You will have a headache for a few days, but it will pass,” she hummed and then removed the bandage from Felicity’s headwound to check it. “Perfect,” she murmured and re-applied the bandage. “The doctor on call will be here in a few minutes to speak with you. If you need anything give me a call, alright?”

“Thank you,” Felicity said gratefully.

“Does that mean you’re going to be okay?” Rhea asked.

“I think so,” Felicity nodded slightly. “I hope so, too. I don’t like hospitals.”

“The doctors always give me stickers and balloons,” Rhea frowned adorably.

“I think it’s because you’re a cutie, I’m not though, so I have to endure them without stickers,” Felicity sighed a little dramatically.

“That’s not nice. Everyone should get stickers and balloons after a doctor’s visit. Daddy, do you get stickers at the doctor's?”

“No, I don’t,” her dad chuckled. “I haven’t gotten a sticker from the doctors in a long, long time.”

“Aunty Thea?”

“Nope, her either. Or Uncle Tommy,” he shook his head and Felicity could see the smile he was fighting.

“Not even pink band-aids?” she looked at her father with wide eyes.

“No, not even pink band-aids,” he said as if it was the biggest travesty in the world. Rhea just gasped dramatically, and it took everything in her not to laugh at the little girl’s antics.

Felicity was truly sad to see them go. She knew realistically that they wouldn’t stay long, but she was still sad to see them go. Her imagination was also playing tricks on her because she thought she saw Oliver hesitating.

And to make matters worse, she had to stay the night at the hospital to keep an eye on her, because she had a concussion. That also meant that she couldn’t compete, and frankly she was disappointed. She had been looking forward to this competition. She may not be the best surfer, but she had been good enough to qualify. Well, another thing that didn’t work out for her.

Felicity was bored. Most of the channels on TV had Greek programs, and she didn’t speak Greek. Some of them though had English programs, but only after nine or ten at night. Better than nothing, but still. She spent a lot of time watching Greek programs, challenging herself to catch words she knew, at least until her head hurt.

The nurses were friendly, and sometimes they would bring her a magazine in English to pass her time. It wasn’t much, but they did their best.

Evidently, hospital food was bad no matter where you were in the world. It was quite a feat to eat everything, though she enjoyed the Greek yogurt she got for breakfast.

With so much time on her hands, Felicity thought long and hard about her next steps. She was out of a job; she had been in a relationship with her boss, Ray Palmer, CEO of Palmer Tech, but then she caught him cheating with his ex, and then she had broken up with him. She had soon found herself without a job, but with a very generous severance package. Plus, she was getting good money before that.

Her lease was up shortly after that and decided to wait to get a new apartment until after she returned from her trip, therefore she didn’t have to pay rent or bills. So, she wasn’t in any rush to go back to the USA.

She felt herself needing a break, after the intense six years she had experienced. She needed to take some time to herself. She got the idea from one of the travel magazines; she was going to explore Greece.

The plan was simple; she was going to stay long enough to watch the Competition and then she was taking the boat to Rhodes. She was going to stay there a few days and the travel to the next island that caught her fancy. She was going to be spontaneous for the next two or three weeks and then think about what she wanted to do next.

She liked that idea more and more. Ever since she could remember, she had been working herself hard, at first, it was to get good grades to keep her mother happy so that she wouldn’t leave, too. Then it was to get a good scholarship, then maintain the scholarships she got while working part-time on both occasions, which allowed her to graduate at 19 with two masters from MIT with no student loans. And after graduating, she worked hard to prove herself to her coworkers and supervisors. It’s how she managed to rise from the ranks until she got the position in R&D in Palmer Tech. Then she caught Ray’s eye and that ended in a disaster. Not to mention the mess with Cooper.

But jokes on him, because without her code three of his big projects are completely and utterly useless. They have to start them from scratch, which will set them back at least three years. She was a little smug about it. Just a bit.

Mia had come to visit her once. She had stayed for an hour or so. Felicity had a good time. She and Mia didn’t really know each other but they were friendly. She made sure to thank her for bringing her things to the hospital the other and wished her the best of luck for the competition.

When she was finally discharged, she was given strict orders to stay away from open water (no swimming and no surfing for a week) and to wear a hat and preferably sunglasses as well when she was out. and some extra precautions for her stitches. She was going to have them for a couple more days after her release from the hospital, but she was getting rid of them the day before she was to depart for Rhodes.

When she was finally able to return to her hotel room, she dropped everything by the door and made a beeline for the bathroom. He really needed a shower. She smelt like a hospital. She put on a summer dress and let her hair dry naturally. She ordered some food and a nice cup of coffee to be brought up to her room and opened her laptop to catch a movie.

The day of the competition, Felicity got lazily out of bed. She got dressed in a simple [pair of jean shorts and a white T-shirt](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/5066618320735940/), paired with [a pair of rubber flip flops](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/39688040451196633/) (they were perfect for the beach). She grabbed a few things and put them in her [beach bag](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/128634133097207142/) and made sure to include water bottles and snacks. And her sunscreen. The last thing she needed was to get a sunburn. Those were never fun.

So, she put on her [hat](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/29132728828855878/) and [sunglasses](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/422281204755065/) and was on her way. She walked to the beach as it was a small distance from her hotel and found a nice place to sit. She made herself comfortable and got her book out to pass the time until the competition started.

Mother Sea gifted them with some beautiful waves that day and Felicity was a little jealous she didn’t get to enjoy them, but alas, that was life. She kept a close eye to the competitors, mentally placing bets with herself about the winner. (She ended up winning)

Nick Thompson from Australia came first, Maria Triantafullou from Greece came second, and Lydia Markou came third. Unfortunately, Mia didn’t make it to the top five.

Felicity saw Oliver on the lifeguard tower, keeping a close eye on the people in the water, and for a moment she convinced herself to talk to him. But then she talked herself out of doing it. He was on duty either way. She couldn’t distract him. Right?

Felicity stayed in Crete for another two days, exploring. She ate every meal in a different taverna, though it didn’t really matter, the food was amazing no matter where she ate. She decided to start out by trying the most famous Greek dishes, like [moussaka](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/45317539990668334/) and [souvlaki](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/380906080989092602/). Moussaka was interesting, though she had never been a big fan of eggplant. Souvlaki, though, that was on a different level. She had tried a few variations; pork gyros with tzatziki, chicken gyros with a nice sauce, kebab instead of gyros with tzatziki. And don’t get her started on pitas. [Spanakopita](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/82753711889638516/) and [tyropita](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/525513850265320761/) with handmade filo were definitely something she enjoyed. There were many other kinds of pitas, but she didn’t have time to try them in Crete.

The day after she got her stitches out, she got the boat to [Rhodes](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/20547742039281784/). She still not allowed to swim, so she stayed away from the beaches, but she had plenty of fun exploring the [old town](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/26177241572694980/). On her second morning there, she found herself playing with a few kids, and she couldn’t remember the last time she had so much fun, even if they didn’t speak the same language. One of them hugged her leg and gave her a flower before going back to her mother.

She took the plane to [Mykonos](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/621989398535662443/) next; she was truly curious about that island and why every celebrity seemed to favor it. It was a beautiful island for sure, but overpriced. Seriously overpriced. She stayed two nights and on her first night she went out for drinks. She almost dropped her drink when _Rihanna_ passed by her. She was also 95% sure she saw Scarlett Johansson the next day [when she was out on a walk](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/331859066298644770/). It was crazy really. Rumor had it that the Kardashians were on the island, too.

Her next stop was Tinos. She did her research, as with every place she visited, and found out that Tinos was a religious center. One of the most famous things the island was famous for is the Church of [Panagia Evangelistria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Tinos), which was built around a miraculous icon. The icon itself had a very interesting story as well. According to tradition, Virgin Mary appeared to a nun in the early days of the Modern Greek State (after the Greek Revolution) and told her where the icon was buried. The icon is believed to be responsible for countless miracles.

Felicity stayed at Tinos for two days, before taking the boat to [Santorini](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/8585055528445326/). And since she could swim now, on her first day she decided to go to the [Red Beach](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/124200902210317457/). It was a small feat, considering she had to climb up and down a hill to get to the actual beach and then again to leave, but she thought it was worth it. She had never seen a beach quite like this one. It was _red_!

On day two, Felicity took a tour of the [volcano](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santorini#/media/File:ISS017-E-5037_lrg.jpg), by boat. It was a day-long cruise that ended with the [sunset](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/27021666503545686/) in Oia, which was magical. On the third day, after spending the morning at the beach, Felicity visited one of the wineries in Santorini. [This one](https://santorinidave.com/koutsoyannopoulos-winery-santorini) had also a museum attached to it, and Felicity took a full tour, including a wine tasting. She stayed another two days in Santorini, before moving on to [Naxos](https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/76631631149695410/) for another three days to work some more on her tan. She had discovered an incredible beach and she practically lived there for the next four days.

She decided to explore the mainland after that, as she wanted to visit a lot of archeological sites and museums and she wanted to see what beauties the mainland had to offer. Plus, it was a little painful to be surrounded by so many couples on the islands, while she was there alone and with a recently broken heart.


End file.
